Yannick Omlor and Simon Rösner delivered a seedings upset for Germany as they helped their side beat No.8 seeds Hong Kong, China, to top Group H at the WSF Men’s World Team Championship.
With today’s playing order 3-1-2 it was World No.86 Omlor up first, and the third string gave [9/12] seeds Germany the lead with a 3-1 win over World No.80 Tang Ming Hong, before Tsz Kwan Lau brilliantly fought back from two games down against Raphael Kandra in the second match to level the tie with a 3-2 win.
This left the tie in the hands of former World No.3 and veteran of seven previous championships Simon Rösner, with the 36-year-old – who retired from the professional game in 2020 – rolling back the years with a crushing 3-0 win over World No.49 Henry Leung.
Afterwards, Rösner said: “It was very tough and very tight. Yannick played out of his skin. Raphi was up but couldn’t quite get over the finish line – at the time I wasn’t prepared to have to win!
“So, I had to prepare myself properly and make myself ready to get the win in the end.
“I’m happy with how I played and that I can still keep up with the boys! I think it’s a really good result and I’m really enjoying playing again and seeing all the old faces I’ve shared a court with for so many years. Now I’m looking forward to getting the best result we can for team Germany.”
Joining Rösner in playing in eight separate championships was Alan Clyne, with the 37-year-old helping No.7 seeds Scotland to a crushing win over Canada.
Elsewhere, there were a number of tight contests as teams jostled for the top spots in the groups.
In Group E, No.5 seeds USA and [9/12] seeds Czech Republic played out a 15-game thriller.
Czech Republic’s Jakub Solnicky gave his side the lead with a tight win over Andrew Douglas, before Timothy Brownell clinched a 11-7, 10-12, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 win against Viktor Byrtus and Shahjahan Khan squeezed past Daniel Mekbib 12-10 in game five with the scores at 2-2.
At the Mercury Baypark Arena, hosts New Zealand lost out to No.6 seeds Wales 2-1 in a close encounter, with brothers Temwa and Lwamba Chileshe beaten by Owain Taylor and Emyr Evans, either side of a 3-1 win for home favourite Paul Coll against Joel Makin.
Today also saw the top four seeds enter the draw, with top seeds and defending champions Egypt beating Malaysia, No.2 seeds England overcoming South Africa, No.3 seeds France beating Australia and No.4 seeds Switzerland defeating Nigeria.
Group A:
EGYPT 3-0 MALAYSIA
Youssef Soliman 3-0 Hafiz Zhafri: 11-1, 11-7, 11-2 (23m)
Ali Farag 3-0 Sanjay Jeeva: 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (24m)
Mazen Hesham 3-0 Ameeshenraj Chandaran: 11-4, 11-5, 12-10 (27m)
Group B
ENGLAND 3-0 SOUTH AFRICA
Adrian Waller 3-0 Damian Groenewald: 11-5, 11-4, 11-8 (23m)
Mohamed ElShorbagy 3-0 Dewald van Niekerk: 11-2, 11-6, 11-9 (27m)
Patrick Rooney 3-0 Tristen Worth: 13-11, 11-7, 11-3 (29m)
Group C
FRANCE 3-0 AUSTRALIA
Gregoire Marche 3-0 Nicholas Calvert: 11-1, 11-4, 11-4 (25m)
Baptiste Masotti 3-0 Joseph White: 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 (27m)
Auguste Dussourd 3-0 Dylan Molinaro: 11-2, 11-1, 11-6 (24m)
Group D
SWITZERLAND 3-0 NIGERIA
Yannick Wilhelmi 3-0 Kehinde Samuel Temitope: 11-2, 11-5, 11-9 (31m)
Nicolas Mueller 3-0 Babatunde Ajagbe: 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 (27m)
Robin Gadola 3-0 Adegoke Onaopemipo: 11-6, 11-2, 11-6 (24m)
Group E
USA 2-1 Czech Republic
Andrew Douglas 2-3 Jakub Solnicky: 10-12, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 9-11 (70m)
Timothy Brownell 3-2 Viktor Byrtus: 11-7, 10-12, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 (61m)
Shahjahan Khan 3-2 Daniel Mekbib: 11-9, 5-11, 8-11, 11-1, 12-10 (67m)
Group F
WALES 2-1 NEW ZEALAND
Owain Taylor 3-1 Temwa Chileshe: 11-5, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3 (54m)
Joel Makin 1-3 Paul Coll: 11-13, 11-4, 8-11, 5-11 (67m)
Emyr Evans 3-0 Lwamba Chileshe: 11-4, 11-5, 14-12 (50m)
Group G
SCOTLAND 3-0 CANADA
Alan Clyne 3-0 Liam Marrison: 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (39m)
Greg Lobban 3-0 David Baillargeon: 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 (20m)
Rory Stewart 3-0 Salah Eltorgman: 11-7, 11-5, 11-3 (24m)
Group H
GERMANY 2-1 HONG KONG, CHINA
Yannik Omlor 3-1 Ming Hong Tang: 11-4, 4-11, 11-8, 11-7 (56m)
Raphael Kandra 2-3 Tsz Kwan Lau: 11-4, 11-8, 6-11, 6-11, 10-12 (55m)
Simon Rösner 3-0 Henry Leung 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (28m)